Vietnamese Citizens Police Academy

AGENCY FIRST

Vietnamese Citizen Police Academy

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office held its first ever Citizen Police Academy for Vietnamese Americans in June 2021. The enthusiastic partic‐ipants graduated after six weeks of learning about the HCSO through presentations, tours, and hands-on activities.

The Citizen Police Academy (CPA) is intended to open the lines of communication between the community and sheriff department and provide the participants with a realistic look at the sheriff department, which is often very different from what is depicted on television and in the movies.

The HCSO CPA was held one night a week for six weeks. Citizens receive presentations on the various programs in the HCSO, interact with HCSO staff, and build relationships with them. The concept of the CPA started in the United Kingdom in 1977. It started in the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary in the city of Exeter, England. A police night school was imple‐mented to allow citizens to learn about po‐lice functions and operations. It was an overwhelming success as the constabulary was flooded with applicants.

In 1985, the Orlando, Florida Police Department adopted the concept and created the first CPA in the United States. Orlando’s goal was to re‐duce crime by developing a rela‐tionship with its citizens. Or‐lando’s program was a complete success. Today, CPAs are throughout the United States and the world.

CPAs provide positive and proactive contacts be‐tween police and citi‐zens.